How inflammatory bowel diseases effect pregnancies, study

Some of inflammatory bowel diseases are more dangerous for pregnant women than others, suggests a new research from U.S.

One of two major types of IBD, ulcerative colitis, was most strongly linked to serious pregnancy complications, researchers found in a study of nearly 400,000 women, Fox News reported.

But all women with IBD can and should take precautions for a safe pregnancy, experts said.

Crohn's Disease and ulcerative colitis are the main forms of IBD. Both affect the digestive tract, although the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America defines ulcerative colitis as a chronic disease of the large intestine, while Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory condition of the entire gastrointestinal tract.

The causes of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease remain largely unknown, and there are currently no cures for the disorders. 

Dr. Darios Getahun, a researcher with Kaiser Permanente Southern California Medical Group in Pasadena and his team wanted to see whether the type of IBD a woman has makes a difference in her risk for pregnancy complications such as spontaneous preterm delivery, problems with blood flow to the placenta and placental rupture.

The researchers looked at medical records of 395,781 women who delivered singleton pregnancies in all Kaiser Permanente Southern California facilities between 2000 and 2012.

In 130 out of 100,000 pregnancies, the women had IBD and those women did have higher rates of certain pregnancy complications.  Women with IBD were also 32 percent more likely to have a spontaneous preterm delivery and nearly twice as likely to have a premature rupture of the placenta.

When the researchers further analyzed the results, they found the increased risk was significant only among women with ulcerative colitis.

Dr. Leah Battista, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Kaiser Permanente Southern California Medical Group, who was not involved in the study, advised women who have inflammatory bowel disease to make sure they're in remission at least six months before becoming pregnant.

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